Last week, a South Carolina judge ruled that al-Marri must remain in prison [JURIST report] during his trial, holding that he had not proven he was not a danger to the community. Earlier this month, the US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] granted [order, PDF; JURIST report] a motion [text, PDF] by the US government to dismiss as moot an appeal challenging al-Marri's indefinite detention, following the Obama administration's decision to try al-Marri in US federal court [JURIST report]. Al-Marri was indicted [indictment text; DOJ press release] earlier this month on two charges of providing material support to al Qaeda and conspiring with others to provide material support to al Qaeda. In January, shortly after taking office, President Barack Obama ordered an immediate review [JURIST report] of al-Marri's detention. Al-Marri was arrested at his home in Peoria, Illinois by civilian authorities in 2001, and was indicted for other crimes. In 2003, then-President George W. Bush declared him an enemy combatant [CNN report] and ordered the attorney general to transfer custody of al-Marri to the defense secretary, claiming inherent authority to hold him indefinitely. Until recently, al-Marri was detained on a US Navy brig in South Carolina.

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